AS Al Pacino famously said, ‘just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in’. Or something like that.
Everyone was beginning to move on with their lives after 10 pretty relentless days of Oisin Murphy drink-drive chat, until he agreed to be interviewed on Sky Sports Racing on Monday night.
I stumbled across the video while scrolling on Twitter, sandwiched between a post about fantasy football and a tweet (or should that be a hoot?) about owls. Standard.
Like the rest of my feed, the interview with Matt Chapman at Windsor should have been pretty mundane stuff.
After all, there is a tried-and-tested playbook for sports stars, celebrities or politicians when answering questions about a misdemeanour on the record.
You know the sort of thing I’m talking about: “I’m incredibly sorry, it was a huge error of judgement. I’m going to change,”; etc etc.
Then Oisin began talking, and the first thing to come out of his mouth was: “There was going to be a lot said in the media and it’s important not to allow the media to bully you too much.”;
Is he for real? Everything I’ve read and heard so far about this depressing case has, categorically, been fair comment.
After all that has happened in his turbulent career, he still behaves like he is above criticism.
He is not just the four-time champion jockey, he also is a role model. His actions will rightly be scrutinised and he will be held to account, whether he likes it or not, just like other people in similar positions of privilege.
When asked by Chapman about the well-being of the female passenger who was in the Mercedes he crashed into a tree while over the limit, he said: “There was a lot of misinformation in the press, much of it spread by your colleagues. Fortunately she is very well.”;
What a crock of s***. To my knowledge, there was never any reporting in the British press about the condition of the girl outside of the initial police report.
She was not named by the police or in court therefore she wasn’t identified by the media, let alone speculation printed or broadcast about her injuries, or lack thereof.
When dealing with criminal matters, there are legal guidelines the media have to work within.
Nothing before, during or after the court case would have been published without the OK or advice from lawyers, so where is his evidence of misinformation?
This was a lame Donald Trump tribute act. You can’t just shout ‘fake news’ because you aren’t a fan of what’s being said.
At first, I thought he was possibly conflating (or even confusing) the actual media and social media.
Mind you, he emphasised to Chapman ‘your colleagues’. It did not appear to be a slip of the tongue.
He added: “Not everyone wants one to achieve, there’s a lot of jealousy, particularly in the media, but I worked all my life to ride good horses and I’ll continue to do that.”;
Who exactly is jealous? I stopped being jealous of other’s achievements when I was 13-years-old.
He didn’t offer an apology but there was a degree of contrition in the interview — he said he’d been having counselling and it had been a ‘nightmare’ for all involved.
He thanked the BHA, his support network and said he was the only person who could stop his career progressing. He’s not wrong.
So why go after the press? As soon as you deflect and begin involving other people you are, by definition, refusing to take full responsibility or ownership of your actions. And that is the only way to deal with a situation like this.
Also, who the hell is advising him? Prince Andrew’s PR team? Greg Wallace, perhaps?
You play this sorry saga with a straight bat, even if you don’t care about what’s happened, and those around him should have told him as much.
You don’t come out playing shots and blaming others.
It sounds like he is getting professional help, which is clearly a positive, but he has not stated publicly since the accident his intention to give up alcohol.
He doesn’t need to look far for inspiration — look what Richard Hughes achieved in the saddle when he knocked drink on the head. Dealing with addiction requires commitment, you have to be in it for the long haul and prepared to confront your problems.
Believe it or not, Oisin, everyone in this sport thinks you are a supreme talent and they want you to sort yourself out.
But you are not the victim in this case.
It’ll be interesting to see if he fulfils his media obligations the next time he wins a big race on a Saturday.
Questions will continue to be asked because, judging by this car crash of an interview (pun intended), it appears he’s learned little.
